Hi! We’re looking to move from a pop-up to a travel trailer. We know exactly what we want but are overwhelmed by the search process. (so many brands, so many layouts, no filtering features on websites, etc). Tips for the best way to go about this? Are there resources out there with knowledge about all the brands who could point us in the right direction?

The best way to find the perfect RV (which does not exist) is by shopping. Web sites are nice if you know precisely what you are looking for and have a lot of money. But the web sites and their photos will lie. All the photos will look great, the descriptions will always say everything works and they are both lies. You must go out and shop in person to really get a feel for what an RV is worth and what condition it is in. I answered an ad for a 20 year old Beaver that was listed as everything works and in great shape. It was a wreck. I would not have taken it for free. The front bumper was located in the hallway next to the bathroom and that was one of the least of it's problems. Don't even think about the brand, that is totally unimportant when shopping used. Floor plan, condition and price are the three things to worry about.

You'll have about as much success looking for the perfect trailer as that ancient Greek guy did looking for the honest man. Best to find a few quality manufacturers and get the floorplan you like andf then haggle on the price.

Floor plan is really important, have a look at this website as it has a lot of different ones to look at. Consider how you will live in it. Go to a couple of shows and actually sit in some and see how you feel.

Exactly what the others have said. When I was shopping for my current rig, I knew for example that I had to have a booth dinette - just a personal preference. I also knew I wanted the kitchen on the curb side (I'd seen too many floorplans that didn't work for me with streetside kitchens). I knew I wanted a gas oven and cooktop, plus a convection microwave. I knew I did not want a floorplan with the fridge immediately behind the passenger seat (which I'd seen several times and disliked every floorplan that included it). I knew all these things because I'd owned several RVs and had done a lot of shopping.

Knowing all of these things really narrowed the search. I could actually do my own filtering on the phone, saving a lot of driving. Plus, I knew my current rig was "the one" as soon as I saw it. (Although I now kinda wish I'd gone for a 40 footer with 4 slides )

You can do what we did. We took our best guess at what TT we wanted. Then rented a similar model for a ten day trip to the Ozarks.

The size was fine, but the floor plan was not, and my faithful F-150 that pulled our PUP all over did not have the horses or transmission to pull the load. The truck was a surprise since it came with a towing package and suspension.

Better to have found out before we spent the big bucks.

We found the floor plan which was a better match to our needs and an E-boost F-150.

The PERFECT camper is the one that works for you! #1 FLOOR PLAN. This trumps all other variables. Within a price range, most brands are very similar quality. If looking used (HIGHLY SUGGESTED), then condition is more critical than brand.

The PPL web site is wonderful because you see floor plans for each unit on Page 1, making sorting quick. You see many brands and floor plans all in one place. Once you have your choice narrowed down to a FEW makes / models, you can narrow your search to just those. Most sites allow that type of search.

The hard part is deciding exactly what you want - and do not want - in your ideal floor plan.

Get off your butt and go look lol. We went to every RV show and every dealership and looked and made a day out of it stopping for lunch or supper etc and started to collect brochures which are free and we wrote all over them - what we liked and didnt like etc

We too had prefferences ie nightstand on each side of the bed for a waterbottle a book and a clock, a door from the bedroom directly into the bathroom so we dont have to stumble around in the dark etc etc etc little things that were a BIG DEAL to US

We met some. Good some bad and some ugly salespeople but in the end we were happy with our purchase and then A couple years later we did it again and then again and again im now on my who knows what number rig as out needs have changed and so have features on trailers - and i love going to look at new trailers all the time there is always something different - enjoy

Hopefully this post will help others come to a decision or at least get them further on their ideas. It was a few years ago when I decided my young family would enjoy a camping rig and I started to explore all options. I am a Sith lord level handyman and at one point I was ready to build my own travel trailer. I purchased plans from Glen-L but even as an experienced fabricator I found the plans lacking.

So a couple summers later and a huge unexpected summer work bonus I was shopping for a used trailer. I came across so many toads before I found our princess. I even bought a travel trailer, towed it home, and flipped it the same day for a $1,200 profit because I wasn't in love with the style. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice 2008 Pilgrim custom build with a MASSIVE bathroom but that bathroom came from the expense of the living quarters. At this point I really started thinking "what am I really looking for in a camper?" Well initially I totally avoided toy haulers as my old man said a friend had one and complained the cabin always smelled like gasoline and that would be a perpetual problem for haulers.

So I was mainly looking at travel trailers on the local Craigslist. I tossed out the idea of any motorized RV (Class A, B, C, or bus) because I wanted the ability to leave the rig and drive to the fishin' spot, dry goods store, or restaurant and know I wouldn't lose my spot at the camp ground. I didn't want a fifth wheel (even though I love them) because my tow vehicle is a half ton (but still bad @ass for a half ton) and I didn't want to sacrifice my pick up bed. I also threw out pop-ups because we wanted a solid rig, something a large wild cat couldn't claw it's way through. Tossing motorized options out limited my opportunity to take our boat with us as well but I decided I would tow doubles because A) America and B) I am a bad @ss trailer puller as my old man had me backing the boat before I had a driver's license.

After weeks of getting frustrated by dumb Craigslist people I decided to open my mind to toy haulers. I researched other forums and discovered lingering gasoline smell is really hit or miss and many of the people complaining of the smell admitted to spilling gasoline on the floor during transport. As soon as I considered the toy hauler the reasoning crashed on my head. We do have mini bikes, quads, off-road go-karts, wakeboard winches, full size grills, and more. And I liked the idea of having some open space for whatever, even normal household furniture like my favorite leather recliner.

How would you get half of this stuff through the door of the travel trailer?- you wouldn't. And what if you didn't have all those internal combustion toys?- who cares. With the hauler you get a large rear door to roll what ever you're into, into the rig. So that's what we decided upon, A) we can take toys, B) if we don't take toys we can take things that give the rig a more home type of feel. On our first trip with the toy hauler, we fell a dead oak tree and burned some of it at our campfire. I wanted to bring the trunk home and the toy hauler was the perfect solution. And oh yeah- there wasn't a hint of gasoline in the cabin even after towing the trailer in 100+ degree Arizona weather for several hours.

We leave an open bag of Kingsford Bbq Charcoal briquettes sitting in a milk crate in the garage that eleminates all odors and yes we open the vents too while driving to circulate the air. But we found it ideal with kids and grandbabies its a place to change wet clothes after comming off the boat, a huge table for eating at, and, the beds come down and you can sleep another 4 people and we keep 3 boxers 80lbs each in thier kennels back therevat night plus a chest freezer and a ice maker